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Crawford and Knicks Take One on the Chin

INDIANAPOLIS, Nov. 13 - Jamal Crawford walked away from Conseco Fieldhouse feeling woozy and battered, and such was the state of his team as the Knicks left the Midwest Saturday night and wandered into a week that could wreck more than their bodies.

The Knicks lost the opener of a four-game trip, 103-97, to the Indiana Pacers and lost Crawford long before the game had been decided. Crawford left in the second quarter after snapping his neck in a collision with Indiana's Stephen Jackson.

Crawford was still feeling woozy hours later, and his status for the Knicks' game Tuesday at San Antonio was uncertain. A team spokesman said no tests were scheduled.

"Without Jamal, it was just a little tougher," Coach Lenny Wilkens said after a furious rally -- the Knicks had trailed by 21 points -- fell short.

So an eight-day span that included a 34-point loss at home and the dismissal of an assistant coach, followed by two victories, ended with the Knicks again feeling besieged. Their best shooter, Allan Houston, is on the injured list, and his replacement is now a question mark.

And after Jermaine O'Neal worked them over for 33 points and 12 rebounds, there is little reason to believe the Knicks can contend with the gantlet of All-Star big men that awaits them this week in Texas. They get San Antonio's Tim Duncan on Tuesday, Houston's Yao Ming on Thursday and Dallas's Dirk Nowitzki and Erick Dampier on Friday.

"We were just playing bad defense," said Mike Sweetney, who along with Kurt Thomas and Nazr Mohammed tried to defend O'Neal. "Reaching too much instead of letting him make shots over us."

Without Crawford, the Knicks's offense became a one-man attack, and Stephon Marbury was almost up to the task. He scored 37 points -- 23 in the second half -- but could not bring the Knicks all the way back.

Penny Hardaway scored 5 straight points as the Knicks pulled within 5 points with 1 minute 38 seconds to play, but the rally was stunted by a series of fouls.

Eager to embrace every positive development, the Knicks had to view this as a missed opportunity. A victory would have given them a winning record for the first time in nearly three years. Instead, they head to Texas for three games with the threat of an 0-4 trip looming.

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"Listen, if we had folded up and went down the tubes, I'd have been livid," Wilkens said. "But we made some defensive adjustments, and guys carried them out, got back, were a little more patient with themselves in the second half. We got it back there. We make a couple layups, make some free throws, who knows?"

And who knows what might have been had Crawford stayed in the game. He was cutting around a Kurt Thomas screen when he was whacked in the face by Jackson with 6:16 left in the first half. He tumbled awkwardly to the floor and lay there for a few minutes. The team trainer, Mike Saunders, tended to Crawford on the bench for a few minutes before he left for the locker room.

The Pacers were without key players, but Indiana has the best forward tandem in the East and used it to full advantage. Ron Artest, playing his first home game since a two-game disciplinary benching, had 22 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists.

For someone who had been verbally flambéed the past week, Artest was remarkably cheerful. Artest drew harsh criticism and a two-game benching when he asked for time off to rest from the rigors of basketball and producing a rap album.

He seemed to welcome the controversy, at least to the extent that it might help sales. Speaking at length before the game, Artest admitted no regrets ("I wasn't hurting nobody. I feel good with my decisions.") and plugged the coming album from Allure, a female trio from New York.

"The only thing I can do now is move forward, and tell you my group's album is coming out Nov. 23, as everybody knows," he said.

He then proceeded to hand out postcard-sized ads for the album to reporters and urged everyone to visit the band's Web site.

REBOUNDS

Shandon Anderson, released last week by the Knicks, has decided to sign with the Miami Heat, according to ESPN.com. The turbulence surrounding Indiana's Ron Artest has sparked a round of trade rumors, but he said he was not going anywhere. "It's not happening," he said. "I think a lot of that trade talk is the other general managers trying to set up the Pacers to make the Pacers look bad, like we got a lot of controversy going on here, so they can get me on their team."